Our Invitation to You

The National Resource
Center is pleased to now
offer online courses on
current topics related to
the first-year experience
and students in transition.
Online courses are designed
to come as close as possible
to providing students with
the same course content and
opportunities for interaction
with classmates and with
the instructor as traditional
or classroom-based courses
as well as take advantage of
pedagogy and teaching techniques
that are not possible
or uncommon in a traditional
format. Our online courses
will take place during a
four-week period with the
majority of instruction
occurring in an asynchronous
environment. Asynchronous
instruction is neither timebound
nor place-bound and
does not require the simultaneous
participation of all
students and instructors. It
utilizes toolssuch as email,
threaded discussions/forums,
listservs, and blog.

Registration Now Open

Made to Measure: Intermediate Principles of Assessment

InstructorDallin George Young
Assistant Director for Research, Grants, and Assessment
University of South Carolina

Dallin George Young

Dallin George Young is the Assistant Director for Research, Grants, and Assessment at the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. In this role he facilitates a number of national surveys and coordinates research collaborations between the National Resource Center and the international higher education community. Young has experience serving in assessment-related roles at the University of Georgia and Georgia Gwinnett College and is an active member of the Planning, Innovation, and Assessment Council at the University of South Carolina. Young has published manuscripts on learning outcomes, assessment practices, professional preparation, and first-year seminars in scholarly journals and a recently released research report.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is aimed at making assessment more manageable for higher education professionals who have been tasked with conducting assessment, but perhaps have lingering questions about how to make their assessment efforts more efficient and effective. Developing the skills necessary to plan, carry out, interpret, and implement assessment activities is important to those who have been tasked with these responsibilities. This course aims to provide information and techniques to those interested in developing intermediate-level proficiency with assessment and evaluation. The course will cover topics such as aligning assessment plans with department, division, and institutional goals; knowing how to gather and make sense of qualitative and quantitative data; connecting assessment results to program improvements; and developing relationships with key stakeholders in the process.

COURSE OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES

As a result of completing in this course, participants will

Understand the process of developing aligned assessment plans

Detail practical concerns with assessing impact of student engagement

Explore how assessment questions lead to data analysis

Examine effective reporting of assessment results

Identify methods of using assessment results to improve program effectiveness

Talea Drummer is the Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Academic Services at Kent State University in Kent, OH. She has the responsibility of overseeing the Career Development initiatives as well as the programming for at-risk student-athletes at Kent State. Additionally, Drummer supervises the graduate interns that works in the office and coordinates the academic efforts for the football team. Drummer is also an adjunct faculty member in the Sport Administration department at Kent State University teaching a course on the governance of sports. Her research has reviewed sophomore student-athletes and their unique needs. Prior to Kent State, Drummer worked as a first-year advisor at her undergraduate alma mater, Miami University, where she oversaw the daily operations of the building and academically advised freshmen that lived in her residence hall, which was themed RedHawk Traditions: History, Traditions & Athletics and hosed a number of Miami’s student-athletes.

Drummer earned her bachelor’s degree in Family Studies from Miami University in 2006, her master’s degree in College Student Personnel from the University of Louisville in 2008, and is a proud alum of Kent State earning her doctorate in 2014.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will review the various transitions that may occur within the NCAA Athlete experience such as transitioning from high school to college as well as transitioning into eligibility requirements entering into particular semesters. It will evaluate the role of sport with the student-athlete experience. The course will provide an introductory analysis of the athletic experience through the lens of Division-I, -II, and -III athletes. Finally it will allow participants the opportunity to share views of working with student-athletes and gain a better understanding of how to support them.

COURSE OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES

Recognize the differences in divisions within NCAA and the effects on the athlete experience

Stephanie M. Foote is the Director of the Master of Science in First-Year Studies and an Associate Professor of Education in the Department of First-Year and Transition Studies at Kennesaw State University. Prior to this, she was the administrator for academic success and the first-year experience at the University of South Carolina Aiken. Foote has published and presented on her research on the role of first-year seminars and experiential pedagogy on student engagement in the early college experience, college students in transition, self-authorship development in transfer students, and student engagement in online learning environments. She is a past recipient of the NODA Outstanding Research Award for her dissertation study of the perceived effects of first-year seminar participation on the experience of students in their first semester of college, and she is the recipient of the McGraw-Hill Excellence in Teaching First-Year Seminars award. Additionally, Foote is a guest co-editor the Spring 2015 special "Fostering Success for Students in Transition" issue of the Journal of College and Student University Housing, she currently serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice (JSARP), and is the editor for the Journal of College Orientation and Transition (JCOT).

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to engage participants in an exploration of the fundamental aspects of first-year student success. Drawing from multiple perspectives, participants in the course will be challenged to: a) move beyond generational characteristics to fully understand who first year students are and what issues potentially impact their success; b) apply the information generated through readings, reflective assignments, and discussion to innovate practices aimed at fostering first-year student success; and c) develop a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods that can be used to measure first-year student success.

COURSE OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES

As a result of completing in this course, participants will

1. Participants will identify issues that impact the success of first-year students on their campus.
2. Participants will develop strategies and transform existing practices to encourage first-year student success.
3. Participants will understand how to use qualitative and quantitative methods to measure first-year student success.

Articles and excerpts from journals, including several from the Journal of The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, and other web-based resources will be provided in WebStudy. Additionally, optional readings have been identified and will be posted in each module for participants who wish to further explore concepts discussed in the context of this class.